English side loses its top scorer, Mohamed Salah, early in the match; Gareth Bale comes on to seal victory for Los Blancos

KIEV, Ukraine—All through this charmed Liverpool season, when it scored for fun and romped back into European soccer’s elite, one question hung over the club: Where would Liverpool be without Mohamed Salah, its electric superhero from Egypt?

The last place it wanted to find out was in a Champions League final against Real Madrid. But Liverpool didn’t get to choose. When Salah left the field in tears after 30 minutes of club soccer’s most prestigious game with a shoulder injury, the entire tone of its season shifted.